Huckleberry Room

Age range: 4 years – Kindergarten

Our Classroom Intentions:

The Huckleberry Room is dedicated to providing warmth, mutual respect and a child driven education. Warmth will be provided through an interactive, home-like environment. Mutual respect is based on healthy relationships, recognizing the children as capable beings and treating them as such. A child driven education will be constructed by listening to and supporting the children’s ideas and providing them the tools to reach their own conclusions and build on to their knowledge.

Kim Frank

Pre K/K Lead Teacher

Personal Story

I came to teaching by accident. I accepted a job as a Recreation Assistant in Seattle, thinking it was urban forms of recreation, but it turned out to be child care! I loved it so much that I went back to school and ever since have been in the lives of young children, teaching and growing every day. The other passion in my life is cycling. Racing bikes and riding with my 20 year-old son, or riding with the Co-op children is always a joy I eagerly anticipate. My husband, meanwhile, serenades our home with sweet guitar music, cooks us lavish vegetarian meals, copes with the mountain of cycling stuff we generate and endures our constant “cycle-speak.”

Educational Philosophy

I come from an emergent curriculum or constructivist background and 10 years ago discovered the Reggio Emilia Approach to Teaching. I have come to realize that the teachings from Reggio Emilia are more than just about education, but about life. I continue to grow in my journey and understanding of this amazing way of being with young children and their families.

Norma Lindh-Nussbaum

Position: Toddler – PreK/K Lead Teacher

Personal Story

I worked at The Co-op Family Center from 1997 – 2007 and went through many transitions with the Co-op, in terms of being a staff member as well as a parent. I am the mother of two children Cai and Sesca. My son Cai is 21 and he was in the Pre-K classroom and school-age classroom at The Co-op. My daughter Sesca is 12 and she was also at The Co-op from the Infant room – Pre-K-K. My husband Lyle is excited to be back involved with a place that he also values and holds dear. It’s a family affair – even for the staff!

Educational Philosophy

I believe that it is the responsibility of educators to face the challenges of today and stand up for the rights of all children, working to make visible all of the strengths and inquiry that naturally occur as well as helping to empower the voices and the thinking of our future.